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Sensational Second for Spies in Valencia for 800cc Grand Prix Finale
Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies delivered a sensational performance today to take second in the Valencia Grand Prix. The Texan was quick to tuck in behind the fighting duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa, pacing the two as they fought for position. With seven laps to go he made his move and began to close down race leader Casey Stoner. Capitalising on a small mistake by the race leader, Spies moved to the front and managed to create a small gap. Unfortunately the last corner saw Stoner fight back, charging to cross the finish line just 0.015 seconds ahead.
Katsuyuki Nakasuga put in a brilliant performance today in his first ever premier class MotoGP race. The Japanese rider has faced challenging weather conditions all weekend on his first visit to the Valencia circuit. Faced with a grid of experienced GP riders and hugely changeable track conditions, Nakasuga-san delivered, holding his own and fighting through to take a very respectable sixth place finish.
Today’s Grand Prix at Valencia was not only the last of the season, but also the last of the 800cc era. Although unable to ride for the last two Grand Prix, Jorge Lorenzo has amassed enough points to seal second in the Championship standings with 260. Team mate Ben Spies takes fifth place with 176 points.
Fantastic fourth clinches Rookie of the Year title for Crutchlow
Cal Crutchlow and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team ended the 2011 MotoGP World Championship in fantastic fashion this afternoon, the British rider claiming a career best fourth position to win the coveted Rookie of the Year title in a dramatic race in Valencia.
The 30-lap encounter started with light rain falling on the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, the unpredictable conditions posing a major challenge for Crutchlow and stand-in team-mate Josh Hayes as both quickly tried to assess grip levels on the slippery surface.
Starting from 11th on the grid, Crutchlow immediately found himself elevated into the top five when he avoided a four-rider collision at the first corner.
The British rider then found himself locked in an exciting and tense battle with Rookie of the Year rival Karel Abraham, who was riding an inspired race to try and deny Crutchlow from claiming the title for the second year running for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team.
Just one-point split the pair going into the race and they were barely a second apart for the whole race. They exchanged fifth place several times but the battle became even more nail-biting when rain started to fall heavily five laps from the end.
Crutchlow brilliantly judged where he could push his YZR-M1 machine close to the limit and he took fourth place from Spaniard Dani Pedrosa with a clinical overtake on the final lap. Abraham though was refusing to lie down but as their fight intensified, he made a mistake in the braking zone at Turn 11 and crashed out.
Crutchlow ended fourth to clai m his best ever result and by claiming the highest finish by a British rider in the 800cc era, his result moved him into 12th place in the final rankings as he jumped ahead of Alvaro Bautista.
Hayes was another star performer in today's race, the American showing outstanding skill to finish in a stunning seventh place in demanding conditions.
The conditions couldn't have made his MotoGP debut any tougher, but he brilliantly adapted to riding Bridgestone's slick tyres on a greasy surface to finish in front of the some of the most experienced rider competing in the World Championship.
He had already left Loris Capirossi, Hector Barbera and Hiroshi Aoyama trailing behind him when he passed Toni Elias five laps from the end to deliver a hard earned but richly deserved double top 10 for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team.
Updated Information
- 2011/09/12
- [Race Release] Yamaha Factory Racing confirms full attendance at the Motegi GP running Yamaha’s WGP50th Anniversary special livery
- 2011/06/08
- [Race Release] Yamaha confirm Ben Spies contract extension
- 2011/05/17
- [Race Release] Yamaha Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Grand Prix Racing in Red and White
What is MotoGP, Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix?
The MotoGP is the pinnacle class of world championship road racing consolidated by FIM (Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme) primarily in Europe from 1949. In the past, the pinnacle class was the 500cc class of the Road Race World Championships, but in 2002 the regulation was changed to create the MotoGP class in which 2-stroke machines of up to 500 cc and 4-stroke machines of up to 990 cc competed together. Then the regulation was changed again in 2004 to limit the MotoGP class to 4-stroke machines only, and the displacement limit was reduced to 800 cc in the regulation from the 2007 season. Since then, new regulations have also made a single maker the sole supplier of tires for MotoGP, limited the number of tires that can be used by a team during race week, limited the number of engines that can be used in a season and reduced the number of test days.
For Yamaha, 2011 is a special season marking the 50th anniversary of the start of the company's World GP participation. The French GP on May 21st of 1961 was Yamaha's first World GP race. In the half a century since then Yamaha has won many great victories and series titles. Particularly in the pinnacle GP500 and subsequent MotoGP classes, Yamaha has won 182 victories as of the end of the 2010 season, and six Yamaha riders have won the Rider Championship a total of 15 times. Meanwhile, Yamaha has won the Manufacturer Championship title 13 times.
